Let's Talk About The Next Collection Baby

It's our first time buying almost all of our materials at once and in a foreign city

And we’re obviously referencing Salt-N-Pepa with this week’s title….

So, last September, we found ourselves in Athens, returning to a fabric shop known for its vintage shirting— which, of course, was closed all of August. Once we were in the basement, we ended up buying 15 new fabrics for our yet-to-be-conceived Next Collection. We hadn’t even designed anything, but as we traveled around Greece, we thought of creating a 36-piece collection (we have a thing for multiples of 18, aka chai) that would fit perfectly in one of those beautiful aluminum-case Rimowa trunks. Since we were bringing these fabrics all the way from Athens to New York, it started to make sense to us to design a collection that would travel with us the other way—from New York to Athens.

In Athens: Us with the store’s owner, Nikos.

We started taking notes, refining our vision for a very precise collection of 36 pieces, which translates to 14 looks in total, each one being a complete outfit of trousers, a shirt, a jacket, and an overcoat. All in one fabrication—same color, same pattern, same classic men’s shirting fabric (think Brook’s Brother’s shirts). All of it the same.

We’ve always been drawn to a pajama look. I think it comes from my obsession with school uniforms. We always do one pajama look in every collection. There’s something about the way the pieces come together that we love. There may be a chance that I’ll throw all of these looks in the washer and dryer. I’ll start with one, but depending on how it turns out, I might chuck them all in. I think that washing them will make them a little more fucked up and a little easier. But that’s still TBD.

Day 1 of The Next Collection in my sketchbook….this is how I think.

My collage of all the fabrics we bought in Athens….so I can picture how the fabrics we’ve selected work together.

Many years ago, our friend Daniel Storto, a very famous glove designer—who Duckie says is the most craziest and the most talented person he’s ever met. He does all of Celine Dion’s gloves. He’s worked with everyone but is still very particular about who he works with and worked with us (possibly because he was Duckie’s boyfriend in the late 70s). He made all of our gloves and swimsuits for many years—gave me one of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever received:

“Make sure you make the clothes look exactly like your sketch. Make every line in the sketch in the garment. It has to be as precise as possible.”

It was such a breakthrough and beautiful piece of advice that I am applying to this collection. Every sketch (some below) will look exactly like the garment. And when Chloe shoots me in these looks, they’ll appear precisely as they did in my original sketches.

Here are the first sketch ideas for The Next Collection

The first sketch idea for The Polka Dot Safari Suit

More sketches……

In this collection, we’re also introducing The Man Dress— which, admittedly, sounds a bit corny. Is a Man Dress stupid? Or is it totally fine? Why is a dress considered so feminine in our culture anyway? Looking back through history, men have always worn dresses and skirts.

I’ve always been frightened by the idea of dresses and designing a dress. I’ve never felt like I quite got it right in the past. But this time, after 25 years, I think I finally did. I joined together the pattern for a long-sleeved T-shirt and a full-length skirt, and voilà, The Man Dress—which is not just for men, by the way; it’s for everyone. But mostly, it’s for me.

The Man Dress

Then we get to Duckie’s favorite part—what he calls “merchandising.” It’s about as corporate as things get around here. We sketch every silhouette, pair it with a fabric swatch, and log it into a handwritten, photocopied worksheet….the only ones that JJ and Tiffany get anymore. Then, like a cake, they bake with JJ and Tiffany. And while they’re baking, we’ll be baking ourselves in St Barths until they’re done.

The Final 14 sketches, which I like to call my collages

This is Duckie’s merchandising wall. Each silhouette, with its fabrics attached, so we can see what it will be made with

Close-up of an unfinished collage….The Full Length Safari Jacket—very chic

A sketch of The Man Dress with Trousers underneath

The Double Breasted Three Piece Suit

The Floor Length Safari Jacket

We will get the collection back from our factories in mid-February. Then we will style it and shoot it with Chloe…..So look for The Next Collection in early March….Very exciting.

xoxoxo
The Duckies